EU-wide Advantages and Opportunities for HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-16

1. Direct Contribution to Flagship EU Agendas

• European Green Deal & Farm-to-Fork Strategy – positions European stakeholders at the vanguard of the green transition by piloting bi-continental agroecological solutions that can later be mainstreamed through CAP strategic plans.

• Global Gateway & EU-Africa Strategy – offers a concrete R&I pillar that transforms political commitments into joint innovation pipelines, strengthening the EU’s geopolitical influence while creating new markets for EU climate-smart technologies.

• Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework – enables the EU to demonstrate leadership in reversing biodiversity loss through living laboratories that integrate conservation and production objectives.

2. Pan-European Innovation Ecosystem Building

• One consolidated AKIS marketplace – connects EU advisory services, EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, Living Labs and Digital Innovation Hubs with African counterparts, multiplying the user base for EU-developed solutions and data platforms.

• Critical mass for R&I excellence – pooling researchers from at least 3 AU countries + multiple EU MS/AC meets Horizon Europe’s excellence criteria and unlocks larger datasets, wider agro-climatic testing grounds and cross-disciplinary expertise unattainable at national level.

• Fast-track scaling – EU-wide validation accelerates TRL advancement, providing investors with stronger evidence and enabling rapid replication via the CAP’s Innovation Fund, Erasmus+ knowledge alliances and LIFE projects.

3. Financial Leverage and Risk Mitigation

• Lump-sum grant model simplifies administration, allowing public and private entities from all EU regions (including Widening countries and outermost regions) to participate with reduced financial risk.

• Synergies with other EU instruments – results can be funnelled into European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition calls, InvestEU agriculture windows, and Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy & Food Systems, maximising return on every euro invested.

4. Market Expansion & Competitiveness

• Gateway to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – early engagement with African AKIS actors helps EU SMEs tailor products (e.g. bio-inputs, advisory apps, climate-smart machinery) to rapidly growing agri-food markets.

• Certification & standards leadership – co-designing agroecological metrics with African partners positions EU standard-setting bodies (CEN/CENELEC, EFSA) as global references, benefiting EU exporters.

5. Data Capitalisation and Digital Sovereignty

• Interoperable agri-data spaces – builds on the forthcoming ‘Agriculture of Data’ partnership, enhancing access to Earth Observation, IoT and genomics data across continents while respecting EU GDPR standards.

• AI & EO for resilience – EU tech providers gain live African testbeds for drought-warning, carbon-sequestration and biodiversity-tracking applications, enriching algorithms and increasing competitiveness vis-à-vis US/Chinese platforms.

6. Socio-economic & Cohesion Benefits

• Job creation in rural EU regions through demand for new advisory profiles, digital service providers and agroecological input suppliers.

• Talent circulation via Marie Skłodowska-Curie mobility, Erasmus Mundus and African researcher exchanges, reducing EU skill shortages in agritech and climate science.

• Enhanced attractiveness of farming careers by integrating farmers into cutting-edge bi-continental knowledge networks, supporting CAP objectives on generational renewal.

7. Policy Feedback Loops & Evidence-Based Regulation

• Science-policy interface reinforcement – coordinated input to EU DGs (AGRI, INTPA, CLIMA, ENV) and African ministries creates robust evidence for next-generation CAP eco-schemes, EU-AU carbon farming methodologies and sustainable pesticide regulations.

• Early warning on trade & climate risks – joint foresight exercises provide EU institutions with anticipatory intelligence on supply chain shocks, supporting strategic autonomy.

8. Visibility & Soft Power

• Flagship showcase for COP 30 and UN Food Systems Stock-take – successful pilots amplify the EU’s climate credibility and offer diplomatic leverage in multilateral negotiations.

• Citizen engagement across the Union – multi-actor approach plus Horizon Europe open science requirements ensure widespread dissemination through EU media, schools and consumer campaigns, enhancing public support for EU research spending.

9. Long-Term Sustainability Pathways

• Pathway to a future AU-EU Co-Funded Partnership – the demonstrator AKIS can evolve into a jointly financed Horizon partnership post-2027, ensuring continuity beyond the project’s lifetime.

• Blueprint for other sectors – the governance model (joint platform, lump-sum funding, multi-actor involvement) can be replicated in energy, health or circular economy, amplifying systemic impact.

Bottom line: Competing at EU level unlocks scale, diversity and policy coherence that no single Member State could achieve. The call offers European stakeholders unparalleled opportunities to shape global agro-innovation norms, de-risk market entry in Africa, and accelerate the Union’s own green transition while delivering measurable socio-economic returns across all regions.